Hi Ron & all,
 I am wondering if anyone other that Sean B & myself
have tried the Hella battery relay from Bus Depot &
found it to be worthless?

I installed exactly like the instructions & when you
turn on the ignition, the fuse pops immediately. Sean
had the exact same problem & he feels it's the tiny
little wires can't handle the load. I feel the same. I
went with Sean's solution of using a large relay from
Newark Electronics, (idea originating from Mark
Drillock) & have had no problems.

I was wondering if anyone had the Hella actually work
& if they can explain their installation? Ron, any
comments or complaint stories?

I am afraid of the starting battery being effected by
a low aux. But am considering adding a toggle to
disconnect the aux for starting after heavy usage.

Any insight appreciated.
Thanks,

David K.

Ron Wrote:

Date:    Wed, 12 Dec 2001 07:15:05 -0500
> From:    The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
> Subject: Re: Battery isolator
>
> Just a reminder for those interested in adding a
second battery, that
I
> sell
> a genuine Hella dual-battery relay kit designed
specifically for this
> purpose. The kit includes a fused relay, wiring, and
instructions.
When
> the
> van is running, the two batteries are wired in
parallel and the
alternator
> "trickle-charges" the camping battery; when the van
is shut off the
two
> batteries are separated so you cannot kill your
starting battery even
if
> you
> completely drain your camping battery. The use of a
relay for this
> purpose,
> as opposed to an isolator, eliminates the intrinsic
voltage drop
caused by
> the diodes in an isolator. Also, in my experience it
is more reliable
than
> an isolator, and less likely to leave you stuck with
a dead starting
> battery
> in the event of failure (which has happened to me
several times with
> isolators in VW vans)  The third advantage is cost -
just $18.95 for
the
> kit.  Part # 1738.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   (215) 234-VWVW
>   www.busdepot.com

=====
David Kelly
1990 Syncro Vanagolf 15"
1963 Comet Convertible
Seattle

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